Not a Working Relationship
by griot aka Michele
Summary: What happens when Grissom gets to know Sara away from work? GS Romance
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Paramount Pictures, CBS Alliance Atlantis and other sundry corporations. No money passes hands.

As usual, I thank my beta readers, Joan and Sheeny. You guys make it better.

**Not a Working Relationship**

Chapter One

Grissom sat in his car listening to a report on East African fisheries on NPR. He was scheduled to meet with the director of the Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park to consult about the new bug exhibit but was early. He had gone straight to the zoo after shift and arrived before they opened. So here he sat, in the one parking spot in the lot that was shaded from the rising sun, waiting for the gates to be unlocked by a zoo attendant.

A khaki-clad worker came to the gate with a key in hand, placed it in the lock, turned, and swung the gates back. Grissom wanted to hear the end of the fish story so stayed in his car, occasionally nodding in agreement or shaking his head in dismay at something the reporter said. Engrossed, he didn't notice Sara pull into a spot on the other side of the parking lot, along with numerous other visitors hoping to glimpse the flora and fauna of the zoo.

When the reporter wrapped up the report, Grissom got out of the car, reaching into the back to get his briefcase. Heat already rose from the cement of the parking lot. It would be another warm day in Las Vegas. Approaching the gate, he put on his professor smile and said, "I'm Dr. Gil Grissom, here to see the director. I believe he's expecting me."

The attendant nodded. "He's already in the special exhibits building dealing with an air conditioning issue. Just follow the path around to your left." Grissom walked along the path, watching the signs on the buildings in search of the special exhibit building. When he came to a fork in the path, he stopped, confused. The arrows all indicated what exhibits were in which direction but none mentioned the special exhibits building. As he stood in the middle of the path, bewildered, he heard a tentative yet familiar voice.

"Grissom?"

Grissom turned to see Sara standing a few feet away. "Sara! What are you doing here?" he said, confusion knitting his brow.

"I'm waiting for the River Otters' feeding time. I haven't been here for a couple of months and forgot about Daylight Savings Time. Otters don't eat by our clocks. They go by their own internal clocks. The feeding time is later now. At least by my watch.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm here for a consult on the new insect exhibit. But I can't seem to find the special exhibits building."

Sara laughed. "It's the education building. The zoo is too small for anything as grand as a special building for temporary exhibits. But education is integral to the mission of the zoo. So a building for educational programs is essential." She waved with her hand. "It's the path to your right. This way." Sara led the way down the walk.

"You know your way around. You must come here often." Grissom cocked his head, trying to look at her as she walked at his side. Although he had long ago trained himself to look at Sara in only a professional capacity, he still enjoyed looking at her when she talked.

"I come two or three times a month. I have a membership. And I volunteer some. Here it is." Sara stopped in front of a rather small building. Grissom couldn't quite believe an insect exhibit of any worth could be housed in such a building and still provide space for educational programs as well. He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

Knowing exactly what he was thinking, Sara smiled. "They can do a lot with what they have. You'll be surprised."

Sara continued to smile and Grissom was certain later that he experienced a moment of madness when he spontaneously asked, "Would you like to come in with me? You can get a sneak preview of the exhibit."

"I doubt if they're expecting anyone to be with you," Sara said tentatively.

"I'll tell them you're my assistant and you can help."

"Your assistant?" she asked with a look of disbelief that perplexed him. What was that look about? Was she turning down his invitation? Was she offended by the term 'assistant'?

Grissom shrugged. "I thought it might be interesting for you. I'm sure your day here is already planned though, so I won't be offended if you don't want to come."

"No, I'd love to see the exhibit. But I'm not sure how I can assist you."

Grissom smirked, "You'd be surprised how much you know compared to the average person. You don't give yourself enough credit, Sara." Grissom moved toward the door. Looking back toward Sara, who was still standing in contemplation of his last comment, he queried, "Coming?"

Sara, mentally shaking herself from her reverie, followed Grissom to the door of the building. Upon entering, they removed their sunglasses and looked around the room for someone to give them direction. The room was quite warm. A man in his thirties was talking to some technicians outside a utility room. He looked up as Grissom and Sara entered. After giving some direction to the workers, he approached the two with an outstretched hand.

"Dr. Grissom. I'm Derrick Bodi. It's good to meet you after all of our correspondence."

Gripping Dr. Bodi's hand firmly, Grissom answered, "Yes, e-mail is a wonderful tool for initial communication. But it isn't the same as talking to someone face to face." Grissom turned to Sara and introduced her. "This is my colleague, Sara Sidle." He hoped the term 'colleague' was more satisfying to Sara. He certainly liked it better.

Dr. Bodi stretched his hand out to Sara. "Dr. Sidle, good to have you with us."

Sara smiled, shook his hand firmly and attempted to tactfully correct him. "I'm afraid I'm never going to complete that PhD."

Dr. Bodi smiled and nodded. "I know how you feel. I thought the same as I was working on mine. But I'm living proof that it eventually is attainable." He looked appreciatively at Sara and continued to hold her hand.

Embarrassed, Sara started to clarify, when Grissom interrupted. "Where exactly are you hiding the exhibit, Dr. Bodi?"

Releasing Sara's hand, Dr. Bodi moved toward a door to their right. "It's in the east wing. I'm afraid the air conditioning is malfunctioning in this area, so it's pretty warm in there."

"We're used to working in the heat," Sara explained as she followed Grissom and Bodi into the room.

The room was only 40 feet long and 30 feet wide. Although the room itself was dark, light illuminated each display. The insects were housed in about 30 cases set up strategically around the room. Because of the heat, there was little movement in any of them. Each case was set against a colorful and delightfully illustrated display board that would surely grab the attention of any youngsters visiting the exhibit.

Grissom perused the room as if it were a crime scene and inquired, "What exactly do you expect from my, our, visit?" Grissom was grateful that he had corrected himself. After inviting her to help, he wanted Sara to feel a part of the process.

Bodi pursed his lips. "I'm hoping you'll confirm, or correct, all the information we've compiled and give us any suggestions you may have on presentation or anything, actually, that might make the exhibit better."

Grissom nodded. "Very good. Then we'll get started. Where will you be when we're finished?" Grissom continued to scrutinize the room. When he got no answer he looked at Bodi, who was watching Sara. Grissom also glanced her way to see what had caught Bodi's attention. Sara had begun closely examining the first display and was oblivious to the two men watching her. Forcing himself to view her as a coworker and subordinate all these years, he had forgotten how mesmerizing Sara's graceful form and ability to concentrate could be. Grissom shook himself from his reverie, mentally kicking himself. He thought he had broken himself of this. He cleared his throat and again tried to get Bodi's attention. "Dr. Bodi, where will you be when we are finished?"

Bodi, embarrassed, said, "I thought I'd stay here with you," adding hastily, " in case you need anything."

Struggling to hide his smile, Grissom responded, "I think we'll be fine. You should attend to getting this air conditioning back up. Not all of these insects tolerate the heat of Las Vegas. It would be a shame to lose the exhibit to a cascading air conditioning malfunction. Shall we look for you where we found you earlier?"

Disappointed, Bodi nodded his head. "I'll just be in the utility room when you're done."

After nearly an hour of careful scrutiny, Grissom had found only two errors, one lacking a zero in statistical calculations and the other a typographical error. Derrick Bodi and his team had done their homework. He straightened up and looked at Sara, who was just to his left, making notes. He moved behind her and looked over her shoulder at her scribble. She had listed suggestions on improvements to the presentation of the exhibit, mostly in the esthetics of the area immediately surrounding each display case. He nodded his approval. When she finished writing and looked up, Grissom smiled and said, "And you thought you wouldn't be any help. I would never have thought about putting potted roses around the Japanese beetle display."

"That's because you only see the beauty of the bug, not the beauty of the plant it damages in its search for food," Sara smirked.

"Shall we find Dr. Bodi so you can get to the…what was it you were waiting to see?"

Sara smiled good-humouredly. "The River Otters being fed their breakfast. But I suspect they are already full. It started about ten minutes ago." She moved toward the door. Grissom moved with her.

Grissom looked at his watch. "I'm sorry. I was hoping this would be a bonus to your day, not a distraction from it."

"The otters aren't the main reason I come. Their breakfast normally coincides with my arrival and I've gotten used to seeing them. I really come to see Gil."

Grissom stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned his head, dipping it in an inquiring tilt. "Gil?"

Sara let out a raucous laugh. Her laugh was boisterous and quite unique. Grissom wrinkled his brow, perplexed as to the joke he had apparently missed.

"Gil is a chimpanzee I've adopted in the Adopt an Animal program. I come here to help clean up the chimp area. That's my main volunteer stint."

Feeling a bit self-conscious, Grissom opened the door of the room and felt a refreshing rush of cool air. He stepped aside for Sara to exit and followed her to the utility room.

Peering into the room, she tentatively called out, "Dr. Bodi?" A disembodied head peeked from around a large piece of machinery. A smile spread across his face and he came around the machine, tripping on the parts lying on the floor in the process. Attempting an air of savoir faire, he asked, "How does our little exhibit measure up?"

"Quite impressive, considering your limited resources. I've noted two errors in the information, and Ms. Sidle has some suggestions on how to improve the presentation." Grissom and Sara handed their notes to Bodi. He looked them over with fervor.

"Ms. Sidle, I was unaware that you would be involved in this consult. I assume the customary fee is acceptable? If you give me your address, when I cut Dr. Grissom's check, I'll mail you a check as well for your time."

Sara was at a loss for words. Grissom could tell she was uncomfortable accepting money and came to her rescue. "Ms. Sidle is a member of the zoo, as well as a volunteer. I'm sure you can simply consider this part of her volunteer service."

Sara hastily concurred, "Yes, please. I expect nothing for my meager contribution to this exhibit."

"No, please. Let me at least buy you lunch," he said hopefully.

Grissom was surprised and a little apprehensive. Why hadn't he considered that Bodi might pursue his obvious attraction to Sara? And why shouldn't she take him up on it? Bodi seemed like a nice guy. Sara was an attractive, desirable young woman. She deserved to be admired and pampered. Wasn't that part of the reason he had refused to deepen their relationship four years ago? He was a science geek, not a lover. He couldn't possibly give her what she needed, what she deserved. So why should he be so unhappy at the prospect of Sara receiving attention he wasn't willing to give her?

Sara's expression indicated she hadn't even considered that the good doctor was interested in her until that moment. She seemed flattered, but uncomfortable. She looked at Grissom, whose face revealed nothing. She pondered the question carefully before responding, "I'm afraid I have a previous commitment. Perhaps on my next visit to the zoo, I can look you up?"

Grissom let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. His momentary relief was replaced by the realization that Sara had not outright refused the good doctor's advances. She might still go out with him - and have a nice time. He knew he should want that for her. He really should.

"I'll look forward to it." Bodi was encouraged. He likely felt that he would have a much better chance at impressing her with some preparation. "Until then."

Grissom and Sara left the building. Grissom stopped and looked around in confusion.

"Grissom, I'm heading this way, to the chimpanzee exhibit. Do you think you can make your way back to the front gate?" Sara was poised to leave.

Sizing up the area, Grissom shook his head. "I'm not sure. I'm still turned around."

Sara turned and started to move away from her original direction, obviously to guide Grissom back to the entrance. Grissom was embarrassed that he was taking up so much of her time.

"Sara, I don't want you to waste anymore time dragging me around." After a moment of thought, he asked, "Would you mind if I just went with you to see Gil?" Sara was shocked. "I'm here. I might as well see my namesake, and enjoy the zoo at the same time. And how better than with someone who is familiar with it?" A disturbing thought occurred to him. "Unless you'd rather be alone?"

"No, no," Sara hastened. "I'm just surprised. We haven't done anything outside of work in…well, ever."

"Then I'd say we are overdue. This way?" Grissom pointed in the direction Sara had been facing and started walking. Sara, nodding, walked next to him.

The heat shimmered on the pathways as they walked. Sara pointed out several of her favorite plants as they passed by. "People refer to this as the Las Vegas Zoo. But it's really the Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park," she said, stressing _botanical_ for emphasis. "There are more plants than animals here, which is the case in most zoos. Yet everyone comes to see the animals and rarely notices the plants. They're missing an amazing element of the park."

Grissom became infected with her enthusiasm. "I tend to notice plants because insects are often found on them. But, as you pointed out in the education building, I notice the bugs more than the plant." Sara shared that quirky smile. "I'll try to be more observant." Grissom ambled a bit closer to Sara and started looking more closely at the plants, reading the information tags provided for each of them. Sara pointed out some of her favorites, of which Grissom took special note. The short distance to the chimpanzee enclosure took half-an-hour to traverse.

When they came in view of the enclosure, Grissom could see several people in khaki with buckets, brooms, and brushes tidying up one of the cages. Another woman, also in khaki, was holding a chimpanzee and talking to a small gathering of children. Suddenly, the chimp began jumping in the woman's arms and making the exited sounds one expects from a chimp. The woman looked around and saw Sara as they approached. Smiling, she said loudly, "I see Gil's stepmother is with us today." Several of the children turned and watched Sara and Grissom approach. The animal became more and more excited the closer Sara got to the group.

Grissom thought he had seen Sara smile before. Solving a case made her grin. Occasional jokes made her laugh out loud. But the beaming countenance he saw now was beyond anything he had ever seen. The animation in her face brought a smile to Grissom's face that spread all the way to his heart.

Sara walked up to the woman and reached for the chimp, who flew into her arms. The chimp's long arms wrapped around Sara's neck. She returned the hug, the smile never leaving her face. The woman, whose nametag read 'Kathy', began explaining the Adopt an Animal program in which interested parties sponsored an animal with a yearly donation. She explained that Sara had been sponsoring Gil for five years and they had become quite fond of each other. The uniqueness of Gil and Sara's situation was also explained so that the children, in hopes of holding an animal as Sara was now, didn't go home and pester their parents to sponsor an animal. This tactic of enticing kids would have been a good way to get more donations for the zoo. But proper education was more important, it seemed. Grissom was impressed by this and resolved to return his consultation fee.

'Gil' began making faces at Sara. She returned them, to the obvious delight of the children. Grissom couldn't stop himself from laughing along with them. After about ten minutes of this frivolity, Kathy announced that Gil's housekeepers were now done and it was time for him to go back into his home. Sara nodded and carried him back into the cage, where several other primates were already perched. As she began to put him down, Gil wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her, with Sara responding in kind. The chimp then climbed onto a fake tree limb with another chimp and waved goodbye. Grissom shook his head in amazement. Kathy locked the cage after Sara exited. They walked over and entered the next cage where the other volunteers were already cleaning.

This cage held a different type of primate and Grissom went over to look at the information sign. It read, 'Barbary Apes'. They were in danger of extinction. But later, Grissom couldn't tell you any more than that. His eyes kept wandering to Sara. She chatted light-heartedly with the other workers while scrubbing away at the back walls of the caged area. Grissom had never seen her so at ease.

But then, Grissom had only seen Sara in the context of work. Even when they first met, it was a forensic seminar that brought them together. All of the subsequent conversations had been focused on the same topic, with only tangent subjects broached in relation to forensics. He realized that he really knew nothing about Sara outside of forensics. He had known Sara for years. There was so much he should know about her that he didn't. He was determined to resolve that.

After aboutthirty minutes of scrubbing, the cage was deemed clean and the workers filed out. Sara noticed Grissom sitting on the bench near the cage and called out to another worker. Handing him her brushes and bucket, she turned to Kathy and motioned toward Grissom. The two women walked his way.

"Grissom, I want you to meet Kathy Nichols. Kathy, this is my supervisor, Dr. Gil Grissom. Grissom is an entomologist and was here this morning to consult on the new exhibit." The woman extended her hand and Grissom grasped it firmly.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Dr. Grissom. Sara has mentioned you often." Kathy's eyes were assessing him. A sense of unease crept up Grissom's spine. He was pretty sure this was how suspects felt during an interview.

"I wish I could say the same, Ms. Nichols. But until this morning, I was unaware of Sara's involvement here at the zoo. It seems she leads a secret life."

"Please, call me Kathy. Sara's life is not so secret, Dr. Grissom. She just needs a little encouragement to talk about it." Grissom was pretty sure he hadn't passed Kathy's inspection.

Or maybe he was just feeling guilty? After all, his self-scrutiny only moments ago had uncovered a lack of interest in Sara's personal life and established a determination to remedy that error.

"Well, Kathy, I intend to do just that."

Kathy smiled openly. "Good. Sara needs to talk about herself more. She is an amazing person. I wish there were more of her in the world."

Grissom shook his head. "No, I'm afraid she's one of a kind."

Sara, who had been watching this little exchange with embarrassed interest, sighed. "Hey, you two. We've just spent nearly an hour cleaning up this type of stuff out of the cages."

They all laughed.

"Yes, and I had better go dispose of it before the smell chases the customers away. See you next week, Sara?"

Sara nodded her head. "Unless work gets in the way, I'll be here."

"Nice to have met you, Kathy. I trust I will see you on my next visit." Grissom liked this woman. She obviously was a good judge of character.

Kathy nodded and waved as she walked away.

"Sorry to leave you alone out here so long. I didn't think you wanted to join us in the clean up." Sara began walking. Grissom fell in next to her.

"No, I've had my share of excrement cleanup in my life. But I enjoyed watching the rest of you working around the animals. They all seem to just accept your presence with little interest. Except that little one on the tire. He kept his eye on you the entire time. Probably heard what a great date you are from Gil."

The double meaning was unintentional and Sara looked askance, laughing nervously. "Yeah, funny faces and cleaning up messes. I'm lots of fun."

"Well, they seemed to enjoy it. I know I did. Are you hungry? Because I realize I'm famished. Let's go get something to eat. Is there a restaurant on the property?"

Sara shook her head. "It's just a snack bar. I usually stop at the Hungry Hippo, a little dineron my way home."

The couple had reached the main entrance to the zoo.

"You lead the way and I'll follow in my car. Last one there pays."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The diner was circa 1960. A sign flickered in the window enticing those who entered to "Try the Wildburger". When Grissom pulled into a spot near the entrance, Sara had her hand on the door, waiting for him to alight from his car.

"You know, Grissom, if I lead the way, it's predetermined that you will be the last one here."

"So I guess it's my treat," Grissom smiled as Sara opened the door, swinging it wide so that Grissom could enter with her.

They found a booth near the back. The menus were on the table behind the condiments. The waitress took their drink order while they perused the menu. When she returned with their drinks, they were ready to order.

"I'll try the Wildburger. It seems to fit the mood of the day. Would you like to split an order of fries?" Grissom looked over the menu at Sara.

"Yes, that sounds good. And I'll have an egg salad sandwich to go with those fries."

With nothing else to occupy them, Grissom suddenly realized they would need to engage in small talk. He wasn't good at small talk. But he was determined not to talk about work.

Grissom folded his arms on the table and said, "So, explain to me how you came to adopt Gil."

Sara smiled and took a drink from her tea. "Do you remember that mutilated body we found in the desert a few years ago that turned out to be a gorilla?" Grissom nodded.

"I was really affected by that case. Animals have such a vulnerability about them. They are totally dependent on human behavior. In the wild, they are dependent on human destruction or preservation of their habitat. Or, in the case of hunting, the disparate tools used hunting for trophies. In captivity, they are dependent on humans for everything. In my research for that case, I discovered how many animals are near extinction because of the human element. Zoos are the immediate solution to preventing that, while searching for long term solutions."

"Everyone needs to do something to solve the problem. I figured adopting an animal was a small thing for me to do, considering the enormity of the problem. Initially, I intended to adopt a Barbary Ape. But when I talked to Kathy and discovered a chimpanzee named Gil was also in need of a sponsor, I couldn't resist. The irony was to much not to do it."

Grissom raised his eyebrows. "What irony?" Sara just smiled and shook her head. "Oh, the irony of having to monkey around with this Gil all night," pointing to himself, "then monkey around with that Gil on your off time." Grissom thumbed toward the direction of the zoo.

Sara laughed boisterously. "Something like that."

"It's good to hear you laugh, Sara. I've missed that."

Sara became serious, looking at Grissom intently. Grissom didn't mean to bring the conversation to such a serious level so felt compelled to say something.

"I had such a good time today. I would really like to do it again."

"I'll be going again next week. Unless a case is pressing, of course. You're welcome to join me." Sara's face was unreadable.

Grissom looked at the table for a moment, contemplating what he wanted to do. Looking up, he said, "I don't want to wait that long to see you." The shock on Sara's face was clear. "Would you like to go to see the new Degas exhibit at the Art Museum after shift tomorrow?"

Skeptical, Sara inquired, "Grissom, are you asking me on a date?"

Grissom hesitated. "What do you mean by a 'date'?" He hated the term 'dating'. It seemed so juvenile.

Sara's expression changed to one of condescension. "An appointment made between two people to do something together with the express purpose of enjoying each other's company." Her tone said she expected him to back out of the offer.

With boldness, he answered, "Then yes, I'm asking you on a date." Grissom's heart was pounding with the realization of what he had just done.

Sara's mouth dropped. She was speechless. After several minutes had elapsed, Grissom was afraid that she was thinking of an excuse not to go.

Taking her signature shallow breath with a slight hesitation, she said, "Is breakfast included?"

With relief, Grissom smiled and nodded, "Absolutely."

Sara smiled in return. "Then you're on."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Sara was showing him a slide of the hair samples they had gathered. She had been going through the samples for hours and her slumped shoulders showed her fatigue. Grissom came up close behind her and started massaging her shoulders. Her groans as his hands kneaded the muscles of her neck verified that he was hitting the right spots. His hands moved down her arms and he kissed her neck. She leaned back into him with a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her.

Grissom awoke feeling a sense of contentment. He lay in bed a few minutes remembering how Sara had felt in his arms, a smile on his face. His dreams of Sara were rarely so vivid, though he often dreamed of her. They would be at a scene and he would watch her meticulously gathering evidence. She would be interrogating a suspect while he observed. They would be performing an experiment together. Always in the context of work, never crossing the line into personal. It was an unwritten rule, even in his dreams. That this dream broke that rule seemed significant.

They were going to the museum after shift. He climbed out of bed and went into the main living area, searching for a book on his wall of shelves. He had a book on Degas somewhere. He would take it to work and leave it for her to look at on her break.

While showering, Grissom thought again of the dream and reflected on its significance. Work and romance should never intermingle. It was one of the many reasons he had refused to let himself get into a relationship with Sara in the first place. He was afraid that, if he did let himself love her, his work would be affected. He would lose concentration and behave inappropriately around her. His reputation as a criminalist would fade. Hers would be jeopardized as well.

Was the dream a warning?

Grissom arrived at the lab with trepidation. Things felt different between them, even though they hadn't yet 'dated'. Would Sara expect him to behave differently? Grissom did not see her in the vicinity as he made his way to his office. Checking messages and preparing for the evening, he forgot about his concerns until he entered the conference room to pass out assignments.

Sara was reading a file and didn't even look up when he entered the room. Everyone quieted, anticipating the assignments. Sara looked at him in the same way she always had at work. It seemed that his fears thus far were unwarranted.

"Warrick, where do you and Greg stand on the Emerson case?" Grissom got right to business.

"Greg has been working on piecing together the shattered glass from the scene and I'm still cataloguing the evidence. We'll be working on that all night." Greg massaged his fingers. He expected them to get a workout.

"Sara, where do you and Nick stand on the Palmer case?"

"Hodges is still running the trace. We're at a standstill until we get the results."

"OK, Nick, you go with Catherine on this suspicious death in Henderson." Grissom handed Catherine the information. "Work with her until your results come in." Nick looked at Catherine and nodded.

"Sara, you can work with me on this B & E." Sara smiled. Grissom felt the apprehension return. "Get your kit and I'll meet you in the parking lot."

Grissom climbed into the passenger seat of the Denali and strapped in. He always preferred one of the other CSIs to drive and Sara had rightfully assumed he would want her to drive this time as well. As they pulled into traffic, Sara looked at him askance and asked, "Is what I'm wearing appropriate for the art museum? It was hard to dress for work and our date." Grissom peered at Sara. He knew she was wearing a sleeveless green tank and black jeans because he was always aware of what she was wearing. But he didn't want her to know that he knew. "Sure. Why wouldn't it be?" Grissom was thankful that the crime scene was only minutes away.

Sara shrugged her shoulders. "I just wanted to make sure. I don't often care about my appearance. When I go places alone, I don't have to worry about embarrassing someone else."

All apprehension dissolved. Grissom looked at Sara intently. "Sara, you could never embarrass me by your appearance. You're beautiful in anything you wear."

Sara continued to watch the road, but smiled and blushed a deep red. Grissom smiled as well. Was he the only one who thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen? He just couldn't understand why men weren't lining up at her door, begging to take her anywhere her heart desired. Why would she ever have to go someplace alone?

They arrived at the scene and exited the car. Brass filled them in on the known details and they got to work. In no time, Grissom and Sara were in their rhythm, moving around the scene, collecting evidence, documenting, photographing. They were so engrossed in their job, they didn't hear when Brass offered to get them coffee.

After two hours, all the evidence had been gathered and placed in the back of the Denali. The short distance back to the lab was traversed amidst discussion of the evidence and possible scenarios.

As they gathered the evidence to carry into the lab, Sara said, "After we get this logged in, I'm going to go check with Hodges on the Palmer case."

Grissom nodded. "If you don't have anything yet, you can come help me catalogue." Sara waved her acquiescence as she walked toward trace.

Two hours later, Grissom was done cataloguing the evidence. Sara had never come back. Grissom went to trace. Hodges was diligently working – alone.

"Did you get the result on the trace from the Palmer case?"

Hodges looked up from the microscope with a deferential look. "Yes, sir, some time ago. Sara picked it up. She didn't say much, except that she had to find Nick. But she did seem excited."

"Did you see in which direction she went?"

Hodges hadn't really cared what she did after he gave her the results, since Sara wasn't the boss. But since it seemed important to Grissom, he scoured his memory. "I think she went that way," waving his finger towards the garage area. Then quickly, "Shall I page her for you?"

"No, it doesn't really matter. I'll find her."

Grissom needed to do some research on some of the evidence they had found. He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial as he walked toward his office.

"Sidle." Sara sounded distracted.

"I take it you got something to work with from the trace?"

"Oh, Grissom! I forgot to get back with you. Yeah, there was cesium chloride in the trace from the back door. Nick and I are tracking down all the sources in the area."

"You'll likely be awhile with that. I'll take care of the B & E."

Grissom spent the remainder of the shift in his office organizing the evidence and assembling a list of likely suspects in his case. He headed over to take the list to Brass before heading home. He stopped to check on Sara and Nick's progress on his way.

"I'll get the car, you get the drinks," Nick called as he headed out the door, almost crashing into Grissom.

"Break in the case?" Grissom asked as Nick came to a halt.

"Yeah. Henderson Chemicals is the only place in the area with that exact composition of cesium chloride. Sara and I are on our way to interview the sales staff."

She added. "There are 12 salesmen that need to be interviewed. We're also going to ask for voluntary prints to match against the ones we got at the scene. Anyone who refuses…." The implication was obvious. "We need to get there before they head out on their sales calls for the day."

"Looks like you'll need to pull a double." Sara & Nick looked at each other and nodded. "I'll OK it, if you go over your limit for the month."

Sara gave Grissom a smile of thanks. As Grissom turned to leave, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the smile replaced by a look of disappointment. He was puzzled, but in a hurry to get the list to Brass and get on with his day. What was it he had planned to do today?

Then it hit him. His hurry to get out was in order to spend the day with Sara at the museum. He wasn't going to have the day with Sara he had anticipated. She would be working a double. And he had approved it.

Obviously, his concerns about feelings interfering with work were misplaced. He had not behaved any differently once they got past the initial discomfort then he had for the past six years. So much so that he had forgotten that Sara working extra hours would also affect him.

The look of disappointment Sara had exhibited was now mirrored on Grissom's face. Sara probably thought he was trying to get out of the date. He did a swift about face and called after Sara as she and Nick reached the door. Sara stopped and turned. Grissom hurried up to her.

"Obviously, our day isn't going to go as planned. Even if you solve the case today, I doubt you'll have the energy to go to the museum. And we both know the case probably won't be wrapped up today. I think we should postpone for a few days, just being safe." A look of soulful regret etched itself on Sara's face. "Can we plan on breakfast tomorrow?"

A smile spread slowly across Sara's face as she nodded. The warmth spread into Grissom's heart as he returned the smile.

This was going to work.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

After two days of long hours, Nick and Sara were in the break room completing the paper work on the Palmer case. The interviews of the salespersons had led to a string of connections that required searching for more suspects, then more interviews, with the subsequent analysis of additional trace evidence. But the trail eventually led to a disgruntled classmate who had been bullied by the victim.

Sara hadn't been able to get a confession from him. But that wasn't her job. Her job was to gather the evidence. And the evidence was sufficient to warrant an indictment. Both Sara and Nick were certain that it would stand up in court.

As he walked down the hall toward them, Grissom revisited Reason 101 of 'Why Sara and I Won't Work' - she's young and should be with someone closer to her own age.

Nick was a fine young man. Grissom had the highest regard for him, particularly after his kidnapping ordeal. He was compassionate as well as passionate. And even Grissom could recognize his good looks. For a romantic companion, Sara could do a lot worse than Nick.

Like him. He glanced at his reflection in the glass wall and paused. What could she possibly see in a graying, bowlegged, antique of a man?

"Are you ready to go? I hope we're eating breakfast first. I'm famished." Sara was looking into the room, assuming Grissom was looking at Hodges as he worked. When she turned and looked at Grissom, all thought of Sara with another man left him. The way she looked at him, as if there was nothing else in the world that interested her, made him believe that he was the only thing in her world. For reasons he couldn't fathom, she was with him. And he would try to be the best man he could be for her.

"Well, breakfast seems to be our new routine. Dilger's again?"

Sara nodded enthusiastically. "They have the best mushroom and cheese omelets I've ever tasted. Are we both driving to the museum?"

Grissom shook his head. "No, there's a special parking area for members. I can drop you back here to pick up your car later."

"Just let me put my jacket in my car. It's going to be a warm day and I don't want to worry with it. Meet you in the parking lot."

The ride to the restaurant was far from quiet. Sara filled Grissom in on the specifics of the Palmer case. In spite of his concerns about talking shop, Grissom had discovered that it often led to more revealing information. When Sara mentioned that the victim owned a restored Toranado, Grissom was inspired to tell Sara about his desire for a Toranado in his youth. This led to a discussion of his first car and, eventually, to his restored, vintage Mercedes Benz that they were driving today. Grissom's concern about Sara's lack of sleep because of her overtime prompted her to confess that she rarely ever sleeps much anyway due to nightmares.

"So many things about this case made me think of the movie My Bodyguard," said Sara after they had ordered their breakfast.

"I've never heard of that movie," responded Grissom.

Sara stopped the glass just short of her lips and looked intently at Grissom. "Well, then, I hope you don't have plans for tomorrow. I'm going to go rent it. I'll fix you breakfast at my place and we'll eat in front of the TV."

"It's not one of those movies that will ruin my appetite is it?" inquired Grissom, his toast stopped halfway to his mouth.

Sara laughed. How he loved that laugh.

"No. It's about this boy…no, I'm not going to give it away. You'll like it. I promise."

If Sara was with him, he'd like it.

How his perspective on life had changed! Just a few days ago, he was actually able to live his life as if Sara Sidle was no more than a colleague. Today, he felt as if he wasn't alive, truly alive, unless she was with him. And they were only going on their first date today.

They left the restaurant and went the short distance to the Las Vegas Art Museum. Grissom had his pass and had previously purchased a ticket for Sara. Sara excused herself to go to the bathroom.

Grissom wasn't nervous. He thought he would be. He wanted the day to go well because a first date set the tone for the rest of the relationship. He had not had a satisfying relationship in years. Every first date he had gone on in recent history ended in disaster, usually because he was called to a scene. Women didn't like it when they realized that the job took precedence over them.

With this in mind, Grissom pulled out his pager and, after a moment's hesitation, turned it off. He pulled out his cell phone and did the same. Work would not interrupt his day with Sara.

The invitation had been to view the Degas exhibit, so Grissom steered Sara toward the Impressionist gallery. He had spent some time studying up on this topic, feeling like a college student cramming for an important final exam. He had reviewed in detail his book on Degas. Having been to the exhibit before, he knew what was on display and researched the background on each painting. He wanted to make the day interesting and informative for Sara. And it wouldn't hurt if she came away from the date feeling impressed with his knowledge of art

After a lengthy discourse on the first three paintings, Grissom stood gazing at the next painting. It was one of several portraits of the French couple Edmund and Terese Morbilli. "I've seen this couple before in Degas' work. She was his sister. For a married couple, they don't seem like they want to be together."

Sara scrutinized the painting. "Oh, but none of these was the original painting of the Morbillis. In the first one, Edmund's hand was on her breast and Terese was kneading his buns with her left hand. Her brother got tired of having to stop every so often for them to…release the tension, and demanded they keep their hands to themselves for the remainder of the sitting. That original painting was deemed unsuitable by the family and burned. In all future sittings, the couple was placed far apart."

Grissom was speechless. He had never heard this story before. He looked at Sara askew and saw a smile spread across her face. "Gotcha!" she declared.

Grissom began snickering. "I can always depend on you to give a… fresh perspective." Smiling broadly, he reached for her hand and enfolded it in his own. They walked to the next painting. The intellectual commentary that Grissom had composed ceased. Instead, they began making up scenarios for the subjects of the painting. The dancer had pulled a hamstring and was leaving the ballet to run off with her Bohemian lover. The family at the beach was going to row their boat across the channel and become performers on the London stage. They smirked at some, laughed at others.

Grissom couldn't remember ever having a better time. If the first date did indeed set the tone for the relationship, his life couldn't get any better.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Grissom and Sara were laughing as they exited the museum. Even the now-pouring rain didn't dampen their frivolity. The weather in Vegas was normally predictable and Grissom hadn't thought to check the forecast for the day. He hadn't anticipated the rain. He was grateful that he had insisted on using the member parking area as it was closer to the door. Even so, the couple was thoroughly wet by the time they had climbed into the Benz.

"I guess I should have brought my jacket," said Sara, using her hands to shake the water from her hair. "At least my hair will dry quickly."

"There's a blanket in the back. Let me get it." Grissom made to exit the car, but Sara took his arm, shaking her head.

"This is Vegas. We'll probably be dry before we get back to the lab. It's not like it's winter. We'll be fine." Grissom felt the loss when she took her hand away.

Sara's prediction of being dry when they returned was not quite accurate. But the dampness was evaporating quickly with the returning sun. As they pulled up to Sara's car in the parking lot, Grissom suddenly began to wonder about the end of this date. As well as things had gone, a kiss was not only desired, but probably expected. Assuming she had as good a time as he. It was difficult to determine by her current posture. It would be easier if he was walking her to her apartment door. But how did one do this when dropping your date off at her car? And was the lab parking lot considered work, and so off limits?

Unsure, Grissom turned off the engine and took a deep breath. "Sara, I had a wonderful time today. Possibly the best time I've ever had. I hope we can continue seeing each other."

Sara smiled. "The movie 'My Bodyguard'. Tomorrow. My Place. Remember?"

Grissom knew no plans would interfere with spending time with Sara. But he thought it was too early in their relationship to be so intent.

"Unless I'm needed here," indicting the lab with his head.

Sara nodded. "Which could be the case with me, as well. So we'll tentatively plan breakfast and a movie at my place tomorrow morning."

Grissom and Sara looked at each other for several minutes, neither sure how to proceed. Just when Grissom had decided a simple move across the seat would put him in range of Sara's lips, Sara sighed and opened the car door.

"I guess I'll see you this evening at shift." Grissom nodded his head in agreement, disappointment overwhelming him.

He watched her climb into her car and waited for her to start the engine. But instead, she reached for her jacket. Why would she want that now? The sun had already dried up the streets and, with the engine off and no air conditioning, he was feeling warm. Sara pulled her cell from the pocket of her jacket and dialed a number.

Like a school boy, Grissom listened in a vain hope that she was calling him. No sound came. Suddenly, he remembered that he had turned off his phone and pager and reached into his pocket. Waiting for the phone to power up, he saw Sara get out of her car and approach his. She had been trying to call him! His phone began to beep, indicating a voice mail.

But when he glanced at the number, it was not Sara's. He was distracted by Sara pounding on his window. With the car still off, he couldn't roll down a window so opened the door.

"I forgot I left my phone in my jacket pocket and heard it beeping when I got into the car. I had a message calling us to a multiple in Henderson. Apparently, day shift is overextended. I would have thought they would try calling you, too."

"I turned off my phone so we wouldn't be disturbed. I just powered it on and see there is a message. I guess we'd better go in and see how things have progressed."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Dr. Grissom! Assistant Director Ecklie has been frantically looking for you." The day receptionist was almost beside herself.

"Is he in his office?" Grissom called over his shoulder as he changed direction and walked toward Ecklie's office.

"I believe he is. Although he might be in Catherine's office. It's been crazy around here."

"I'll go to Catherine's office and see what needs to be done," Sara called over her shoulder as she headed in the opposite direction.

"Where have you been? We've been paging and calling you for the past three hours!" Conrad Ecklie was pacing in his office.

"I have a life outside of this lab, Conrad," said Grissom mildly.

"It's unfortunate you realize that on the one day we need your expertise. We had three bodies covered in bugs. A mother and three children. It was an ugly scene. The media was there and will be making huge press with this story. We'll be in the spotlight on this one. It's likely an insect timeline could be the determining factor in this case. But you weren't available to collect them to establish the timeline."

"Conrad, quit being so dramatic. I've only allowed myself to be the resident collector because of my expertise. Everyone in this lab knows how to collect insect specimens from a body as a matter of course. I'm certain the specimens collected will establish a viable timeline." As usual, Grissom was exasperated with Ecklie.

"That remains to be seen. Catherine waited to collect the bugs, assuming you would prefer to do it yourself. The rain arrived before you did. She did her best to get a viable sample before the evidence was compromised by the rain."

"Well, then, I should get started on the preparations." Grissom turned and walked out.

Sara was just leaving Catherine's office when Grissom got there.

"I'm heading to the layout room to help Nick with logging the evidence. I have a feeling the movie and breakfast at my place is out for tomorrow," said Sara as she passed by Grissom.

Grissom did not have time to be disappointed as Catherine saw him and called out.

"Where have you been? We've been paging you for hours. First Sara doesn't show up because she forgot her phone in her car at the museum. Then you don't show and I'm hustling to get these collected before the rain washes everything away." Catherine handed the box containing the vials filled with insects to Grissom. "Here. Gil, it's been a long time since I had to do this. I hope I didn't mess it up."

"It's not that difficult, Catherine." Grissom looked at the information written on each of the containers. "Everything looks fine. I'll get busy preparing the specimens."

Grissom went to his office and took out all of the vials. He noticed that several of the vials of 'live' specimens had airtight lids on them. He quickly opened the vials and determined that the specimens were no longer alive. Damn! How could Catherine have forgotten how sensitive these were to oxygen deprivation? It was likely that she had put the lids on securely because of the rain, and then forgotten to affix the filtered lid later.

Grissom should have been there to do the collection himself. He had only a handful of specimens that were viable for maturation to establish an irrefutable timeline. He would have to be very thorough and examine every dead insect collected as well to substantiate the time he hoped to glean from these few insects.

It was going to be double shifts for a few days.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Two days after the bodies had been found, a likely suspect was uncovered. Fibers from a towel were found at the home of Bob Kass, a family friend, which were consistent with fibers found at the scene. But he had an alibi that put him out of town on business for the past two weeks. Prior to that, his alibi was flimsy. If the bodies were murdered and dumped in the desert more than three weeks ago, he would be the prime suspect. The insects collected at the scene for examination indicated that the bodies had been dumped eighteen days ago. The DA was reluctant to charge until the timeline was confirmed by the maturing larvae in Grissom's office.

As the 'resident entomologist', Grissom was charged with securing all evidence that dealt with insects. This included creating any timeline and presenting his expert testimony in court. And to ensure the integrity of the evidence, Grissom had instructed the CSI's on all shifts to contact him for insect collection, when feasible.

Grissom had focused all of his energy for the past two days in pinpointing the moment in the life cycle of the blowflies when they were collected at the scene. This should be enough to charge Kass. Grissom was frustrated that the DA was insisting on the mature flies to confirm.

According to his calculations, the pupae should become blowflies within the next 36 hours. Only three pupae remained viable for maturation by the time he had set up the experiment. But he had seen the photos from the scene and how brutally the victims had been mutilated. He wasn't taking any chances that he might be wrong and had decided to remain in the lab until the flies had matured. This bastard wasn't going to get away because of his foul up.

Sara stopped in his door. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

Barely looking up from his papers, in which he was confirming his calculations for the 100th time, Grissom shook his head and responded, "Not today. I'm sticking around to time the fly hatch."

Nodding, Sara left.

Finishing his calculations, Grissom looked up in time to see her disappear around the corner. How was it that when he was immersed in work he didn't think about Sara at all. And as soon as he was drawn away from the work, he could think of nothing but her.

Thinking only of Sara had put this case in jeopardy. If he hadn't been trying so hard to impress her, he would have been available to collect those insects and have a solid timeline. As it was, he only had three pupae and he hovered over them as if they were his children, afraid something would happen and ruin the D.A.'s chances of making a case.

There was a low rumble which interrupted Grissom's train of thought. He realized that it was his stomach. He wished he had gone with Sara to get breakfast. He could have been away for that brief time. Except that when he was with Sara, he lost track of time. He was much safer staying here.

It was going to be a long vigil awaiting the fly hatch. He may as well be productive. The yearly report for the budget committee was past due. Grissom began reviewing the massive pile of expense sheets that were needed to compile the budget report. But his stomach was clamoring for attention. After half an hour of trying to ignore it, he got up and made his way to the vending machine.

As he came out of the small room with a granola bar in hand, he heard a familiar voice.

"Don't open that!" Sara was coming toward him, arms full of carryout bags and a cardboard tray of paper cups. "I brought breakfast." Grissom took the teetering cup tray from her when she got near enough.

"I knew you'd be living out of the vending machine until those flies hatch," said Sara indicating the granola bar. "I wanted to make sure you had at least one good meal today. Let's go eat in your office so you can watch them."

As they made their way back to the office, Grissom marveled at the way Sara could give him just what he needed. If he hadn't suspected he was falling in love with her before, he would have been convinced by her casual manner in bringing him breakfast, one thing they had shared together almost daily for a week now. . It had quickly become their normal routine away from work and he could already feel the comfort he derived from this even before they began. Grissom wondered if this was a good idea. He knew he would be distracted with Sara in his office eating. Even gestating blowflies didn't hold his attention next to Sara. He would insist on her leaving as soon as they finished. After all, just because he wasn't going to be getting any sleep didn't mean she shouldn't.

The meal began without the usual banter about what to order, which almost always ended with both of them ordering the same thing everyday. Sara had duplicated the orders, with the addition of a hamburger, explaining to Grissom that it was to substitute for a vending machine run later on.

They fell into the easy pattern of breakfast conversation, discussing the details of the case and how it might play out if they could just get a bit more evidence. The mention of an Ouija board found at Kass' house prompted a confession from Sara of attending a séance as a teenager. Her description of the teenage girls swooning and screaming while she rolled her eyes brought a grin to the whiskered face. He would love to have known Sara as a teenager. She was mature even then, it seems.

When Grissom looked at the clock, two hours had passed. He jumped up to check the pupae. The pupa cap on one had separated from the body and the fly had emerged, moving slowly around the container as it attempted to spread its wings.

Frustrated, Grissom turned to Sara. "You have to leave."

Surprised, Sara sat up straight in the chair. "I thought I'd keep you company for awhile, maybe help if you needed it."

Grissom shook his head. "NO. You're distracting me from my work. I need to focus on these flies. Leave." Turning to see the hurt look on her face, Grissom's voice softened. "Go home, Sara. Get some rest. I'll see you at shift."

As he watched Sara go out the door, Grissom made a mental promise to himself that this would not happen again.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

It was midday before the third fly emerged and Grissom was able to label the vials with the respective times of emergence. He could now go home and sleep for a few hours. It would be a day or two before the exoskeleton would harden enough for him to kill the flies and mount them on the evidence board.

Grissom slept fitfully. He dreamed that he was in the layout room, examining evidence spread out on the table. Vials of pupae lay next to clothing and a box of crackers he was examining. Sara came in wearing only a sleeveless tee and cotton panties. With no concern for the evidence, he took her in his arms, and made love to her on the table, the vials flung to the floor and the crackers crushed beneath them. He awoke in a state of arousal - and with a sense of disaster.

His rational side said he needed to back off from his relationship with Sara. He had seen ample evidence to know the destruction that obsession with another human being could cause.

But his heart told him something entirely different. Grissom had never been in a real relationship before. He had dated some but those dates had been due to casual interest in the person or a need for sex. Nothing ever developed because his work had always been his first priority.

What he wanted from Sara was…more. This relationship was in its early stages. His preoccupation with her was probably normal. And when they were both immersed in work, it wasn't a problem. The loss of concentration with the fly experiment was a fluke created by the familiar breakfast they had shared. The flies didn't require his full concentration and so he was distracted. He would be sure to recognize similar situations and avoid them in the future.

He was anxious to get to the lab and see Sara. He knew he had hurt her with his abrupt demand for her to leave. They needed to talk about his fears and how they could deal with them.

Sara's car was not in the parking lot when Grissom arrived. Disappointed, he went to his office and checked on the flies. Their exoskeletons were hardening nicely. He could probably mount them before shift tomorrow.

Catherine walked through his door, tentatively sniffing the air.

"Good. You went home to shower." She plopped into a chair and propped up her feet. "I hope you got some sleep, too."

"Yes, thank you. I slept for several hours prior to my shower. Did you just come in to assess my personal hygiene?" Grissom looked at Catherine over his glasses.

Catherine hesitated slightly. "I've been worried about you. You always get so involved with cases involving kids. But with this one, it's even more intense. I think it's because the insect collection didn't yield the usual excellent specimens for evidentiary proceedings and you're afraid it won't stand up in court."

Grissom thought he could see where this was going.

"Catherine, it's not your fault the insects didn't survive the rain and transport. I should have been there to collect them."

"See, that's what concerns me. Gil, you've been kicking yourself for two days because you were not there to collect the insects yourself." Catherine leaned forward to look intently into Grissom's eyes. "The problem is not that you didn't collect them. It's that you didn't notify the team that you would be unreachable. If I had known you weren't going to show, I would have had time to properly collect the specimens before the rain. In truth, I should have taken the precaution and gotten the samples anyway. It's what a good investigator does. I've just become lazy relying on you all the time. So quit beating yourself up. And quit blaming Sara."

Grissom was taken aback. Why did Catherine think Sara was involved in this? "Sara? I don't blame Sara."

"Then why did she insist I check on you instead of coming in herself? She said you yelled at her for distracting you."

Grissom hung his head, acknowledging the truth of Catherine's statement. "I did. I meant to apologize to her, but she wasn't here yet when I arrived. I'll go find her now."

"You don't have time now. You need to hand out assignments."

As Grissom and Catherine headed into the break room, Sofia met them at the door.

"I've got some new evidence for you on the Lerner case." Sofia handed Catherine an evidence bag containing what appeared to be a letter, much the worse for wear. "A neighbor of Mr. Kass found this against his fence when playing ball with his son. Since he was aware that Mr. Kass was under investigation, he turned it over to us. Considering the condition it's in, I would say it's been out in the elements for awhile. You'll want to confirm, but it seems to me the trash pickup on that street is on Tuesdays, the same day that storm struck. This could have blown out of Kass's trash during the storm." Sofia turned and left.

"New evidence in the murder case," called out Grissom as he entered the room. "Sara, work with Catherine on that. The fly timeline will be complete by Thursday. Hopefully, with this new evidence, we can get the DA to charge Mr. Kass with three counts of murder."

"Greg and Nick, I've got a trick roll at the Tropicana for you. Quit moaning, Nick. I know you always seem to get the trick rolls. But I want Greg to learn from the best on this one. Warrick, a hit and run on Ventura. I'll take the robbery at the Seven Eleven on Eldridge."

The Tahoe was already stifling when Grissom climbed in. The drive to the Seven Eleven was short, which didn't give the air time to cool the vehicle down before he arrived at his destination. As a result, his damp shirt clung to his back as he entered the store.

Brass was questioning the cashier, who had difficulty understanding English. Grissom surveyed the scene quickly, and put his case on the floor anticipating the need to print the cash register. Before beginning, he wanted to get the summary from Brass. There could be more to this than there appeared to be at first glance.

Continuing to scrutinize the scene, Grissom saw a ten gallon bucket near the cash register filled with carnations. He looked closer at the petals and saw speckling. Peering into the container, he saw a small caliber shell casing. Had shots been fired?

Brass finished with the victim and came over to Grissom. "Perp entered and went back to the soft drink case, where he opened the case and took out a Coke. Apparently, he demanded the money after the cashier opened the drawer. Unfortunately, the cashier just arrived from the motherland and is not very good with English. He didn't understand what was going on. The perp pulled out a gun and fired it into the ceiling to make his point." Both men looked up. The hole was just to the left of the bucket of carnations.

After printing the soft drink case and retrieving the bullet from the ceiling, Grissom headed back to the lab to run the prints and bullet. If they were lucky, either the perp or the gun was in the system, and this would be an open and shut case. The carnations were also tagged since they had GSR on them. The smell of flowers lingered in Grissom's nose.

After logging in the evidence and depositing it with Jacqui and Bobby, Grissom checked on the evidence from two working cases that were tied up in testing. After updating the files, he went back to fingerprinting and found Jacqui with a suspect sheet in hand. Delbert Griffin had been arrested three times for robbery, but never served time.Grissom called Brass to inform him and arrange for a warrant. More good news awaited him in ballistics when Bobby informed him the gun had been used in two other unsolved robberies.

Two hours later, Grissom and Brass were in interrogation with Delbert Griffin, who was so nervous, it took them only minutes to get a confession. The gun found in his car, registered to his brother, was soon determined to be the one used in all of the robberies.

Shift would be over shortly and he hadn't seen Sara to apologize. He headed for the break room to get some coffee and heard laughter coming from that direction. Several laughs were discernable, but only one caught his attention. He'd recognize Sara's laugh anywhere.

"But the real gem was when you asked him if he thought killing the kids proved that he was a good father. And then asked him what their mother thought about that. The look on his face was priceless!" There was bittersweet joy in Sara's voice.

"So I guess we had a breakthrough on the Lerner case?" asked Grissom as he came into the room.

Catherine, Nick, Greg and Sara were gathered around the table. They all looked up at Grissom's words with huge smiles on their faces.

"The letter that the neighbor found was from Gina Lerner," began Catherine. "The rain and heat had faded the ink and deteriorated the paper considerably. Sara had to run it through several computer enhancements before we could make it all out. It seems Bob had been more than a friend to the family. He had assumed the duties of father and husband after the death of Mr. Lerner. Gina felt the connection was emotional, in the form of support to the family due to their loss. Bob wanted it to be more. When he made his intentions clear, Gina sent him this letter, indicating that although she loved him as a friend, she didn't love him as a husband. She also feared that her kids might be forgetting their real father in their attachment to Kass. So she was breaking off all contact."

Sara took up the narrative. "When we confronted him with this, he was strangely silent. Until I brought up the fact that Gina Lerner had been in contact with an old beau from high school in recent weeks. He arrogantly pointed out that the would-be suitor had ceased all contact with a simple call from him. At which time I pointed out that the phone call was a threat."

Catherine received the narrative tag. "Kass became agitated and claimed the man was twice divorced and never saw his kids. He wouldn't be a good father to Teddy and Lisa. I questioned his standing as a potential father since he was the one who killed them."

"He broke down into tears. With your insect timeline, I don't think the DA will have any qualms about prosecuting now." The pride in Sara's voice was apparent.

"I think we should all go out to breakfastand celebrate. We haven't done that in a long while," said Nick, clapping Sara on the shoulder.

Warrick came rushing into the room at that moment. "Grissom, Ecklie is looking for you. He's pretty upset."

"He's always looking for me and he's always upset," said Grissom nonchalantly. He wanted to go to breakfast with Sara and the others. It would give him a chance to apologize to her. Sara had barely looked at him since he entered the room. Whatever Ecklie wanted, Grissom was certain it would interfere with breakfast plans. "We're going to breakfast, Warrick. Let's get out of here before he finds me."

The crew left the break room and prepared to leave. As if on cue, Ecklie rounded the corner and called out.

"Grissom! I need you now!" Grissom stopped in his tracks. Ecklie really was mad.

"You are two weeks late with your budgetary report. The committee meets today! If you don't want to lose any chance of additional funding, you had better have that report to me by 11:30!" Ecklie turned on his heels and stormed out.

"I guess you won't be getting the tab for breakfast this morning," said Catherine. She came closer and said in a low voice, "I told you not to keep putting off those reports. They'll bite you in the ass every time."

Sara never looked at him as the crew headed to the locker room to gather their belongings and head out to breakfast.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Grissom was grateful that he had at least organized the expense reports while watching the hatching pupae. It reduced the amount of work on the report that he was now forced to try to rush to complete. He was pretty sure he could get the report done in time. But it would be close.

After two hours of frantic pounding on the keyboard, Grissom knew he'd make the deadline. He only needed to rationalize the request for increased funds. He needed to organize his thoughts.

Grissom closed his tired eyes while he pondered his best persuasive strategy. But when he closed his eyes, he saw Sara's face. Specifically, the expression of hurt that he saw when he demanded she leave his office. Not just saw on her face, the expression he put there himself with his actions. Again, Sara was preventing him from doing his job.

His job. The same job that kept him from pursuing her all these years. The same job that caused him to speak to her in a way that tore open his heart. The same job that was now keeping him from breakfast with Sara. The meal that had become their special time together.

Sara was more important than this job. It wasn't Sara that was jeopardizing his job. It was the job that was jeopardizing his future with Sara.

Grissom put his face in his hands and rested his elbows on his desk. He cleared his mind and thought about what he wanted most from his life. With a new focus, he knew what he had to do. He would finish this report. Additional funding would help the team. He could do a good job as supervisor and criminalist. But what he wanted most in life was to be with Sara. Diligent work on that goal would start as soon as this report was finished.

"I brought you breakfast," said Sara gently as she stood in his door. Grissom raised his head from his hands and looked at Sara with disbelief. After he hurt her, she still cared enough to bring him breakfast.

"Gris, are you alright?" Sara was concerned and moved into the room.

"No, I'm not," said Grissom softly.

"I'm tired. Tired of spending hours doing reports that bore me to death. Tired of missing out on time with my friends. Tired of spending all of my life in this lab." Grissom looked around his office and slowly rose from his chair.

"I'm tired of going home alone to an empty apartment." Grissom began moving toward Sara as he spoke. "I want to go home at a reasonable hour to the woman I love. I want to watch the Discovery channel or read the latest journals with her. I want to go to bed and make tender love to her and fall asleep in her arms and wake up with her in mine."

"I want…you, Sara."

Sara was breathing fast and her face was flushed. "You've always had me, Grissom. All you ever had to do was reach out."

Grissom raised his right arm and reached out to cup Sara's face in his hand. Slowly, he raised his left arm and held Sara's face as he moved toward her lips. The kiss was tender and tentative. After pulling back and looking deep into her eyes for affirmation, Grissom kissed her again. The second was more intense, and Sara wrapped her arms around Grissom's waist, holding him fast. As their kiss became more passionate, Sara pulled back.

"How much more work do you have to do to finish the report?" asked Sara, breathless.

"I just have the increase argument to go. Maybe another half hour." Grissom was also breathless.

"Why don't I quit distracting you." Grissom started to protest, but Sara put her finger to his lips. "I'll go home, shower, and grab a few things. I'll meet you at your place in about an hour."

Grissom smiled, gave Sara a peck on the lips, and released her. "I like your plan." He hurried back to his desk to finish his paper work.

Sara started out the door, but hesitated. She turned. "Grissom?" Grissom looked up. "Can we skip watching the discovery Channel and journal reading for today?"

Grissom took off his glasses and smirked. "I think that can be arranged. Just today, right?"

"For now," answered Sara, mischievously. She turned and left.

Grissom was certain no report was ever finished so quickly.

The End

Author's note: chapter ten was to be the consumation of their relationship. But that has proved to be more than will be accepted on this website. Consequently, it has become a sequel, Now It's Personal, published on my website. The URL is listed in my profile.


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